Facts About Michael Jordan That’ll Get You Pumped and Motivated!

Think about sports back in the 90s for a second. You probably couldn’t think of a better athlete than Michael Jordan. At the time, he was the face of the Chicago Bulls, a budding MLB star, and was even in the movie and fashion scene. He was someone you couldn’t mess with or measure up to. He won an incredible six NBA titles in eight years. Even when he wasn’t his best, he was still able to pack the house in the arenas for the Washington Wizards. Michael “His Airness” Jordan’s life has been full of success, but he’s also had his fair share of drama.

Keep reading to find out everything there is to know about one of the best NBA players of all time. You won’t believe how far he went to stay loyal to Nike at the Olympics!

“You’re Too Short!”

Surprisingly, Michael Jordan didn’t always want to play basketball. He initially wanted to follow in his father’s footsteps and play baseball. We aren’t sure when he fell in love with basketball. However, when he tried out for his high school basketball team during sophomore year, they told him he was too short!

Michael wasn’t someone who would quit anything, so he began obsessing over the sport, practicing as much as possible to sharpen his skills. The summer following his sophomore year he went through a growth spurt and gained an additional four inches. When he tried out again, something amazing happened.

The Wisdom Segment

I
The sport of volleyball actually originated with a basketball ball, or what's inside it, to be more specific. William G. Morgan came up with the volleyball concept in 1895 and attempted to utilize a basketball ball. However, he realized that it was too weighty for what he was planning. Thus, as an alternative, Morgan had a customized ball produced for volleyball by a man whose last name you will surely recognize: Albert Goodwill Spalding.

II
The Pittsburgh Pirates nearly constructed a new arena on top of a river. During the 1950s, NADCO Engineering submitted a building plan for the new stadium to be built above the Monongahela River. Once constructed, the arena would be able to cater to 70,000 fans and would include 600 hotel rooms, 4,500 parking compartments and a hundred bowling lanes with AC. Sadly, the project never went ahead.

III
Although a regular game in Major League Baseball can go for almost three hours, the real playing time is just below 18 minutes. Based on the personal computations of the Wall Street Journal, the 17 minutes and 58 seconds of game activity comprises, "balls in play, runner advancement attempts on stolen bases, wild pitches, pitches (balls, strikes, fouls and balls hit into play), trotting batters (on home runs, walks and hit-by-pitches), pickoff throws and even one fake-pickoff throw." If you remove these factors, the total time of raw action in an MLB game would be roughly 5 minutes and 47 seconds.

IV
In the past, an unsuccessful pass from a forward in football would reward the other team with a 15-yard penalty. In addition, if the pass became unsuccessful and untouched, the defense would then be granted possession of the ball. The rule was followed during the early 20th century before the existence of professional football when college football was still the best quality show. Although numerous well-known coaches during the period considered the forward pass as somewhat a soft way of playing, the reduced levels of contact witnessed in the course of a passing play possibly helped saved lives. In 1905, a total of 18 fatalities were seen in high school and college tournaments.

V
Golf players from Japan have hole-in-one insurance. In the Land of the rising sun, it is standard for golf players who successfully made a hole-in-one to host a party together with their closest friends, although the celebration sometimes consists of simply purchasing each one of them a special token. Almost four million golf players from Japan have golf insurance, paying a $65 premium each year for $3500 in coverage, just in case they strike it lucky and need to fork out for the party or tokens.

VI
On Thanksgiving Day in 1887 in Chicago, a band of around 20 young men who had assembled in the Chicago, IL, Farragut Boat Club became bored and decided to construct a game to entertain themselves. They wrapped a boxing glove up to make a soft ball and batted it around the room with a broomstick. From here, the game of softball developed.